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I’m so excited to partner up with the Edmonton Renovation Show and Revolve to talk all things cozy in the home decor department. I definitely feel the pull to bring in cozy pieces into our home once we hit the first snow fall. It’s easily one of my favourite design tips for the winter months and I know you’ve seen me chat at length about it before. But a little knew fact about me, I actually practice the art of Hygge all year round. If you haven’t heard of this design trend, it’s easy to think about it in 3 simple ways: make your home cozy, inviting and comfortable. Leading with that feeling of cozy, it’ll feel make your decor inviting for guests and invoke that happily STAY home to relax mentality.

There are 5 easy items you can work into a room to create a Hygge inspired design: cushy pillows, candles, soft or furry blankets/throws, plush rugs and fireplaces.

What I love about The Art of Cozy is that it’s simple and easy. Blankets, pillows, and throws can easily be changed out throughout the year to switch up a colour palette for a room. Candles can immediately have an impact just with scent memory alone. I love to do floral in the warmer months and spicy for masculine scents in the winter like Balsam. Most people look at the concept of the fireplace as a main obstacle to achieve that cozy cabin feeling. But there are so many faux plug in options available these days at almost any price point. And my favourite c out effect trick, wood wick candles will give off the glow, scent and sounds of a burning fireplace. You get that crackle for a fraction of the price.

I love attending the Renovation Show each year. It can give you both small refresh ideas or connect you with contractors for big home building projects. To find more inspiration on adding the perfect cozy elements into your home, visit the Cabin Fever feature designed by Revolve Furnishings, also inspired by Hygge decor. I’m giving away a few pairs of tickets on Instagram, head over to my feed and look for one of these photos to enter.

Here is my final holiday home reveal of the season. With December here in full swing, I’ve finished my decorating for the season with A LOT of help from Canadian Tire. If you’ve followed me for a while you know I love this Canadian retailer. Supporting Canadian brands is very important to me as a main theme of my blog messaging throughout the years. This is why I’m so excited to share our dining room and mantel space with almost EVERYTHING from Canadian Tire’s CANVAS Collection. They have a wide assortment of stylish, on-trend décor to make your Christmas feel fabulous. What I love about holiday decor shopping with Canadian Tire most? They organize décor in colour coordinated aisles! That’s right! You pick the colour trend that you are feeling for your home, and browse that aisle for all your holiday needs in one spot. It takes out the guess work and you don’t need to be an interior designer to put together a trendy look. From entertaining needs to this year’s must-have toys, to of course, holiday décor, Canadian Tire is truly Canada’s Christmas Store and I’m so excited to share this partnership with you.

We have the tradition of setting up a Christmas Village every year in our dining room. Each week in December we pull a house out of storage and add to our little holiday town. The kids love to look into the windows and see what the family is up to. We found this cute Yoga studio at Canadian Tire to start off our set up this year.

With the holidays just around the corner I’ve partner with Wonder Bra Canada to talk holiday style, feeling wonderful and comfortable at all your holiday events. Let’s face it, when attending a holiday function you want a bra that deliveries the BIG 3: fit, support and comfort. Here are my tips and tricks to finding the perfect bra for any holiday function this year:

1. Flatter Fit: Try the bra on! Even better? Bring the dress, top or sweater you’ll be sporting to see the fit it provides. Some dresses can be more revealing, so find the right cut of bra to suit your needs. Basically you want to pick a bra that won’t be showing. Strapless, convertible, halter.

2. Comfort: For myself, trying a bra on is key to gagging comfort. And I love wireless bras! Yes ladies, they exist and still provide support. Do yourself a favour this season and try a wireless option, you be sure to feel comfortable at events for long periods of time.

3. Support: This one is so personalized. You know yourself what you may need, but I love to ask a professional instore for help. If your holiday occasion doesn’t involve a 30 minute run you may bot need the support you’d get from a sports bra. But in order to feel wonderful you can to feel supported. For myself, I prefer a lightly padded structure cup with no underwire. It’s just my preference, once you find the bra that fits like magic you’ll know too.

Be your own kind of wonderful this holiday season and find the perfect bra BFF for all your holiday events. A bra that fits perfectly is a game changer. Happy shopping and season greetings!

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Wonder Bra Canada, but my thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the time of year, I feel my skin change with the temperatures. The moment cold weather is upon us my skin screams for moisture in all shapes and forms. I’ve partnered with Vichy to share my top 3 products I’ve been loving this past year. Here are my fav’s to combat winter dry skin and get that glow back with Vichy:

LiftActiv Supreme: PURE MOISTURE at it’s finest this light cream will melt into your skin leaving no grease residue behind. Honestly, it was tough not including the night cream from this same line, but I love this moisturizer so much for how smooth and radiant my skin can look within just a few uses with zero shine. If you are looking for a main moisturizer you can use every morning pre-makeup with zero time to let it soak in this one needs to be in your life!

Mineral 89:There should be no surprise this made my list. Using it for well over a year, this is my first step to the day EVERYDAY. Even my husband has his own bottle! Minéral 89 is a non-greasy gel that I love to use as my primer and initial skin boost to the day. It contains Thermal Water with natural origin hyaluronic acid to strengthen skin’s barrier function, which is so important with the harsh winter weather we put our skin through everyday. Even if you are not into skincare, this product is an easy add to your routine.

LiftActiv Vitamin C: This small but mighty bottle is my favourite product for getting that glow. With 15% Pure Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Fragmented Hyaluronic Acid and Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water you’ll notice brighter and tighter skin after just a few weeks. I love the power of Vitamin C for a skincare routine but I struggled to find products with a high percentage, this is why Vichy’s version made my list. A little goes along way with this mineral packed bottle.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Vichy Canada but may thoughts and opinions remain my own.

If you caught this little couples getaway on my Instagram stories last week, you’d probably have seen this blog post coming a mile away. As a born and raised Edmontonian this isn’t my first visit to Banff National Park by any means. We have frequented the area bi-yearly for decades. Luckily enough being an avid mountain air seeker, I’ve had the pleasure of trying many establishments and I wanted to share a few of our favourites in hopes this read will help you plan out your next escape. Here are my current hotels, restaurants and attractions of mention for Banff in 2018.

Stay

We’ve done the full range of accommodation options for Banff over the years: from rented house, cabins to hotels. I will say when booking a couples trip, I highly prefer a main street Banff hotel to any of the other options. Walking access to restaurants and sips being the main reason. And in all honesty, house keeping when I’m away from kids for some romance is a must.

Elk + Avenue Hotel (formerly the Banff International): Location, location, location… located in main street Banff, this modern and renovated hotel is steps away from nightlife, shopping and eats. We love the decor added in the last update to this hotel, it’s a trendy comfortable “après-ski” kind of vibe with so many cozy touches. Definitely check the website when booking, currently there is a promo that includes gondola and seasonal festival tickets with your room booking. Who doesn’t love some added value?

Honourable Mention Mount Royal Hotel: Although I haven’t stayed at it since it’s new renovations, I can definitely speak to the prime time location in the middle of main street. Visit the website and take a look at the gorgeous updated rooms and that roof top hot tub! Our plan is to try out the new rooms sometime this winter.

Sips & Eats

Let me start off by saying this category is so tough for me. There are almost too many places to mention that are incredible to eat. So to save myself from writing a novel I’m only going to share our current 2 favourites for both taste and experience.

Sky Bistro: Dine at the summit of a mountain. Enough said! We enjoyed a relaxed lunch with the most specular views we’ve ever seen from a restaurant. I highly suggest getting a reservation if you are going for a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain.

Chucks: It’s gotta be the Albertan in me but we cannot go to Banff and not get a real Alberta Beef experience. Grass fed, hand picked and aged steaks to choose from this restaurant is a meat lovers dream. You’ll notice we are not the only the ones who think so, you’ll need a reservation during peak dining hours or you will be turned away. We shared the the family style platter, The Cow Boy Trail it had something for everyone.

Experience

A trip to Banff is not complete without taking in some specular views. Between hikes, strolls along the falls or mountain top visits, everything is majestic in the mountains. Here is one experience you don’t want to miss.

Banff Gondolaat Sulphur Mountain: For the view along, this gondola ride is definitely worth it. As a little side note, check the website you can save by bundling admission with dining, booking in advance or arriving early currently has free admission for children before a specific time. Approximately 7500 feet above Banff this attraction is a must for a breathtaking experience like no other. At the top experience a state-of-the-art facility offering history, shopping and dining. I suggest bringing layers to take a stroll on the boardwalk. I couldn’t get over the view or the elevation! Continue reading →